Gerloff ended a frustrating season in his second year with the GRT Yamaha team. He finished in seventh position in the general standings and first of the independent drivers, after having obtained two podiums in the first part of the season.
The Texan driver’s form dropped noticeably after his first corner crash with his teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu in the July round of Assen. Gerloff then scored just one more top-five for the remainder of the season, slipping more than 60 points behind Yamaha rookie Andrea Locatelli.
Speaking to the official website wsbk.com, Spies said Gerloff’s caution following the incident with Razgatlioglu was understandable, but he believes his countryman had proven he has the ability to win races next season and finish in the top four of the championship. .
“I feel frustrated, and I say that 100% from Garrett’s side,” said Spies, who was the first rider to win a Superbike title for Yamaha in 2009. “It’s a shame because yes, he made a few mistakes all the way through. start of the year and caused some confusion and some people were angry, which was understandable.
“I think he got a little nervous and had to go through a couple of weekends without making any mistakes, as well as other things that shouldn’t have happened that made him drive even more cautiously. That bothers me too.
“However, that’s how it is and he’s overtaking it; we saw his pace was great after the first few laps of the races, but he gets swallowed up in the opening corners because he doesn’t want to make a mistake and then it takes too long to pass people because of the same thing. When he is free, then he makes third or fourth place times without struggling “.
“He is a rider from third to fourth in the world championship and I think he can finish in the top four in the championship next year. I think in 2022 he will get a couple of wins that maybe he should have done this year.”
Spies added that he supports Gerloff to emulate his result and win the championship in the future if things happen right: “He has that talent without a doubt, he just needs that circle around him like Toprak and Jonny. [Rea] they have. It will not fully arrive in 2022; does not have a Kenan [Sofuoglu] there as Toprak, and that will make a difference. “
“I hope that next year he finds his real confidence and does great things, and that everything works out well in the team, so that he is able to start building his own team around him. When it comes to talent and technique of race, I know he has it. “
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